A youth group in the Denkyira Traditional Area has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Ghana Police Service to immediately investigate and act on what it describes as a shocking and unlawful assault on the Chief of Mfuom during today’s [Monday, August 31] Akwasidae celebration in Dunkwa-on-Offin.
The group, calling itself Mfuom Youth 4 Development, in a strongly worded statement issued on Sunday, said what reportedly occurred at the Akwasidae grounds cannot be dismissed as a mere chieftaincy or traditional matter to be swept under the rug.
According to the statement, eyewitness reports indicate that the Chief of Mfuom was forcibly removed from his residence by persons allegedly acting on the instructions of the Denkyirahemaa, Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III.
The group further alleges that the chief was dragged through the community, physically assaulted and publicly humiliated, before the Queen Mother allegedly struck him in full view of persons gathered for the sacred Akwasidae observance.
Mfuom Youth 4 Development argued that no individual, regardless of traditional title, political influence or social status, is above the laws of the Republic of Ghana.
The group cited Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees the personal liberty of every person in Ghana, and Article 15, which declares the dignity of every person as inviolable.
It further drew attention to Article 26(2) of the Constitution, which is more directly applicable to attempts to justify dehumanising conduct in the name of tradition. The said article expressly prohibits all customary practices which dehumanise or are injurious to the physical and mental well-being of a person.
“Traditional authority is worthy of respect, but traditional authority is not sovereign authority above the Constitution,” the statement stressed.
The group said the sanctity of Akwasidae makes the allegations even more disturbing, noting that the revered occasion is intended to symbolise reverence for ancestral authority, unity, dignity and continuity, and should never become a theatre for humiliation, intimidation or physical violence.
At the heart of the statement is a direct and emphatic call on the Ghana Police Service to act.
Mfuom Youth 4 Development is urging the IGP, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the Central Regional Police Commander to immediately commence an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the incident.
“The Police are not interfering in chieftaincy when they investigate an alleged assault. The Police are not interfering in tradition when they protect a citizen from alleged violence. The Police are not interfering in customary authority when they investigate allegations that a person was forcibly removed from his home, restrained, publicly humiliated or beaten. That is policing. That is the rule of law,” the group stated.
“Ghana is governed by a Constitution—not by the unchecked power of any individual. Respect for tradition must never mean surrendering the rule of law. A stool is not a licence to assault. A palace is not beyond the reach of the law. And no traditional title can place its occupant above the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. The law must take its course.”
The Akwasidae festival, which is celebrated every 42 days by Akans to honour ancestors and for purification, was being observed in Dunkwa-on-Offin, the traditional capital of Denkyira, when the alleged incident occurred.
